Alas, Dear Brother
by Y-Pen-yn-y-Garreg
Summary: When Morgana intercepts Arthur and Merlin on the way to Avalon, Arthur is resigned to the worst – until things take a turn he never expected.


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 **For the optimal reading experience, however, I would recommend either reading this story on ArchiveofOurOwn (see my profile for a link) or going to my profile for a link to a plain HTML Dropbox hosted version.**

 **INT. = interior  
** **EXT. = exterior**

* * *

MERLIN

"ALAS, DEAR BROTHER"

FADE IN:

EXT. FOREST'S EDGE – TWILIGHT

Down in the valley beyond the trees, a solitary isle rises above the misty waters of the Lake of Avalon.

Just inside the forest, Merlin is lying unconscious on the slanting ground. Further up the slope sits Morgana, perched on a rock near Arthur.

Morgana gazes down at Arthur as he lies helpless amid the mossy stones. He looks back at her with a kind of exhausted emptiness. A peculiar expression steals over her face. She seems suddenly sorrowful, almost pitying – or mockingly so.

MORGANA  
(softly)  
Don't worry, dear brother, I won't let you die alone …

Arthur looks back at her with the merest hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

MORGANA  
I'll stay and watch over you … until …

Arthur waits hopelessly for the catch he knows is coming.

MORGANA  
… until we reach Avalon.

The merest of frowns creases Arthur's brow.

MORGANA  
I've come to take you there.

Arthur stares up at her, searching her eyes, as though her true intent might be written there.

ARTHUR  
(numbly)  
What do you mean?

MORGANA  
We must move quickly. Alas, dear brother,  
I fear you have tarried too long already …

She reaches out and touches his side, where his chainmail is torn and stained with blood.

MORGANA  
If we're to have any hope of healing  
you of this wound, we must go now.

Arthur stares at her, unfathoming.

ARTHUR  
(at last)  
What about Merlin?

Morgana looks over at Merlin. His eyes are closed, but his chest is rising and falling steadily.

MORGANA  
He's only sleeping. He'll be fine. I was meant  
to do this … not him. I know that now.

Arthur only gazes silently up at her.

MORGANA  
(quietly)  
Do you trust me?

ARTHUR  
(softly)  
No. How could I?

Morgana shows no surprise nor dismay at his answer.

MORGANA  
(after a moment)  
Will you let me take you anyway?

Arthur stares silently into Morgana's eyes, his expression unreadable. Several moments pass.

And then he nods.

EXT. LAKE OF AVALON – TWILIGHT

A small boat bobs upon the misty waters.

Morgana sits silently at the prow, her arms around Arthur as he lies with his head on her lap. Arthur stares up into her eyes with a kind of hazy confusion.

ARTHUR  
(quietly)  
Why are you doing this? I thought … I thought you wanted me dead?

MORGANA  
As did I …

The boat continues to make its way through the waters. Morgana stares out over the prow.

MORGANA  
I came looking for you … to ensure that you _would_ die … I truly  
believed it would make me happy … But then I saw you … lying  
there … so helpless … so near death … and all I felt … was cold …  
empty … regretful … And in that moment I realised … I don't want  
this at all. I don't want any of it … I've made a terrible mistake.  
(locking eyes with Arthur)  
I'm so sorry, Arthur. I've done such terrible things … I've  
hurt you so much, and you never deserved any of it. I  
see that now. And all I can do … is try to repair what  
little of the damage I can. If I can save you, I will.

ARTHUR  
But I thought … do you mean … do you not hate me?

MORGANA  
I thought I did … but now I realise I've just been telling myself  
that because … because it was easier … I was so angry … I felt so  
powerless for so long, and then I found out … that all the power  
Uther had over me … all the authority he had as king … it could  
have been mine. And you were the only thing standing between  
me and that power, so I convinced myself that I hated you – that  
you deserved to die – because it was the only way I could justify  
taking your kingdom. I told myself it was because you wouldn't  
accept magic … but the truth is I never gave you a chance to …  
all I ever did was use it to hurt you. There was a time when all  
I wanted was for magic to be accepted … but I lost sight of that  
long ago … obscured by my desire for revenge … for the kingdom  
I felt had been wrongly denied me … But when I saw you tonight,  
it was as though a veil had been lifted from my eyes … I saw  
myself for what I've truly become … I saw you as you truly are …  
my brother, who never did anything to hurt me, who only ever  
wanted the best for his people … and if you thought that included  
keeping magic banned … it was as much my fault as anyone's …  
(looking deep into Arthur's eyes)  
I will not ask for your forgiveness, dear brother,  
because I know that I do not deserve it.

Arthur makes a sudden movement, as though to reach for Morgana, but he moves too quickly and puts too much strain on his injury. His face contorts with pain.

MORGANA  
(softly)  
Lie still, dear brother. It won't be long now.

She draws him close and rests her forehead against his. A single tear falls from her eye and traces its way down her face.

MORGANA  
If we don't make it … I want you to know – that  
I'm sorry for everything, and … that I love you.

ARTHUR  
Do you … do you really mean that?

MORGANA  
Every word.

Arthur stares into Morgana's eyes for a long time before speaking again.

ARTHUR  
I … I love you too, Morgana … and I … I forgive you.

Tears glide silently down Morgana's face. Arthur's eyes flutter closed, but he looks at peace in her arms, lulled by the gentle rocking of the boat.

They sail on in silence, until a soft thud indicates that the boat has reached the shore.

MORGANA  
We're here …

Arthur's eyes flicker open. He sits up, and a book falls from his chest. It lands open on his lap. He looks down at it blankly.

He turns and takes in his surroundings.

INT. COTTAGE – MORNING

He's in a small bedroom with fading wallpapered walls and old wooden bookshelves, sitting on top of a bed covered with a patchwork quilt.

As he looks back down at the book on his lap, his spirits seem to be visibly plummeting. His fingers trail over the words halfway down the page. They read:

 _… And when they were at the water side, even fast by the bank hoved a little barge with many fair ladies in it, and among them all was a queen, and all they had black hoods, and all they wept and shrieked when they saw King Arthur. Now put me into the barge, said the king. And so he did softly; and there received him three queens with great mourning; and so they set them down, and in one of their laps King Arthur laid his head. And then that queen said: Ah, dear brother, why have ye tarried so long from me? alas, this wound on your head hath caught over-much cold. And so then they rowed from the land …_

Blinking several times in quick succession, Arthur snaps the book shut and shoves it away across the bed. Its front cover reads: LE MORTE D'ARTHUR by SIR THOMAS MALORY

Just then, the door across from Arthur bangs open and a slightly wild-looking old man comes prancing into the room. When he catches sight of the book on the bed, his bearded face breaks into a grin.

MERLIN  
You read the book! How'd you like it?

Arthur doesn't return Merlin's smile.

ARTHUR  
(stonily)  
I didn't.

MERLIN  
Oh, come on, where's your sense of humour? It's  
mad the stuff posterity has dreamt up about us!

ARTHUR  
(scowling)  
Mad, yes. Amusing, no.

MERLIN  
Really? Not even the bit where that bloke snogged  
Lancelot because he mistook him for his lady friend?

ARTHUR  
(drily)  
Did he? I must have missed that bit.

MERLIN  
(reaching for the book with a grin)  
Here, I'll show you. It's in book six, chap–

ARTHUR  
(snapping)  
I don't want you to show me. I want  
you to get out and leave me alone.

Arthur snatches the book off the bed and hurls it across the room. Merlin dodges out of its way with surprising agility for such an old man.

The book slams into a shelf and falls to the floor in a heap. Merlin stoops to retrieve it.

MERLIN  
(with a reproachful look at the damaged spine)  
Now, now, that's no way to treat a book.

ARTHUR  
(venomous)  
It's a perfect way to treat a pack of lies.

Merlin finally seems to sense that Arthur's not in a mood to be trifled with.

MERLIN  
(uncertainly)  
It wasn't that bad, was it? I took out all the chapters about  
Gwen and – well – you know … I didn't miss one, did I?

He starts leafing anxiously through the book.

MERLIN  
Or was it the stuff about Mordred that got to you?  
I figured it was so different from the real story  
you wouldn't take it personally … Was I wrong?

ARTHUR  
(moodily)  
I wouldn't know. I skipped most of it.

MERLIN  
(looking up and frowning)  
Then what's got you so upset?

ARTHUR  
(scowling)  
I'm not upset.

MERLIN  
You look upset.

ARTHUR  
(avoiding Merlin's eyes)  
I just – don't see why you wanted me to read that book, that's all.

MERLIN  
I thought it would give you a laugh … Guess I was wrong …

ARTHUR  
I guess you were.

MERLIN  
Do you … want to talk about it?

Arthur glares at him.

MERLIN  
Right … I guess I'll just … go make us some breakfast, then …

ARTHUR  
I'm not hungry.

MERLIN  
(after a silence)  
Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me …

Merlin leaves, taking the book with him.

EXT. LAKE SHORE – DAY

Arthur stands on the edge of a vast lake. Although the tower on its island is now in ruins, it's unmistakably the Lake of Avalon.

Arthur stares out over the misty waters, looking a thousand miles – or perhaps a thousand years – away.

A little way up the road from the lake stands a cottage. Merlin peers out from behind one of its curtains.

INT. COTTAGE – CONTINUOUS

Merlin stands by the window, watching Arthur.

After a moment, he sighs and turns away.

MERLIN  
Fine, Arthur … if you won't tell me what's the matter, I'll just  
have to ask Thomas Malory himself what he said to upset you.

Merlin crosses to the kitchen table, where his slightly battered copy of _Le Morte d'Arthur_ sits waiting. He pulls up a chair and tilts the book onto its spine.

MERLIN  
(holding a hand out over the book)  
 _Atendende word, eowic atendaþ …_

A bright golden fire kindles to life in Merlin's ancient eyes, and a moment later light blazes from between the pages of the book. It falls open near the end.

A few lines at the bottom of the page are glowing as though they've been written in fire rather than ink, but even as Merlin watches, they fade to their ordinary black. Merlin leans forwards to read them.

MERLIN (VOICE OVER)  
"Thus of Arthur I find never more written in books that be authorised …"

EXT. LAKE SHORE – CONTINUOUS

MERLIN (VOICE OVER)  
(as Arthur continues to stare out over the lake)  
"… nor more of the very certainty of his death heard I never  
read, but thus was he led away in a ship wherein were three  
queens; that one was King Arthur's sister, Queen Morgan le Fay."

FADE OUT.

THE END

* * *

 **This story was inspired by the versions of the legend where Morgan le Fay takes Arthur to Avalon to be healed. If you were disappointed that their reconciliation turned out to be a dream, sorry, but to be honest, I agree with the writers' decision not to incorporate this particular aspect of the legends. After everything that happened in series three and four, Morgana changing her mind in the end would have felt contrived. I liked the imagery of this version of the story, though, and could definitely see Arthur reading about it centuries later and wishing it were true.**

 **Let me know what you think in a review. I'd be interested to know how many of you were disappointed when it turned out to be a dream and how many thought it made more sense that way.**

 **Note: I sometimes respond to reviews on the review page by posting my response as a separate review.** **If you have an account I'll also send you a copy of the response via PM, but if you review as a guest you may want to check the review page every now and then to see if your review has been replied to.**

 **On _Le Morte d'Arthur_ : As a general rule I'm not too fond of Thomas Malory's version of events. I prefer the earlier versions, where Mordred is Arthur's nephew and that's the end of it. I don't much care for the strange fixation Malory's French sources had with incest and adultery. But unfortunately I wasn't able to find as good an account of Morgan taking Arthur to Avalon in any other version, and since Morgan didn't become an antagonist until the French got hold of her, the story wouldn't have had the same significance in an earlier version anyway. In contrast to the story about Arthur's unwittingly incestuous affair with Morgause ( _not_ Morgan le Fay), Arthur and Morgan le Fay's story in _Le Morte d'Arthur_ is a pretty good parallel for their story in _Merlin_. In both versions Arthur starts out trusting Morgan(a) completely, until he discovers that she's secretly trying to have him killed. It's also worth noting that their reconciliation at the end of _Le Morte d'Arthur_ is as much out of the blue as it is here. No reason is given for it whatsoever. Last we hear of Morgan le Fay, she's bent on killing Arthur and his knights, and then next thing we know, she's crying her eyes out because he's dying, and he inexplicably trusts her enough to get into a boat with her when he's fatally wounded, even though every other time he's trusted her she's betrayed him. Malory's version also went well with this story because he has Morgan refer to Arthur as "dear brother", evil Morgana's favourite sarcastic epithet for Arthur, only in _Le Morte d'Arthur_ she seems to mean it sincerely.**

 **Translations:**

 ** _Atendende word, eowic atendaþ_ = "Inflammatory words, inflame yourselves."**

 **"I love you" = "I love you as a brother/I love you as a sister", not "If only we'd had a chance to make those French stories about _accidental_ incest look tame."**

 **Don't forget to review. ;)**


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